Hospitaller Saints
Perhaps the largest Military Order, the Hospitaller Saints are equal parts battlefield medics, and aid for those endangered by epidemics, disasters, famine and war, providing medical and food aid. History Formation Recent Years Role The Hospitaller Saints can mostly be divided into two branches, their military arm, and the civilian arm. The civilian arm consists of volunteers, trained as medics, aid workers, doctors and surgeons. The civilian arm goes in to areas stricken by disasters or famine, or into war zone to deliver aid to refugees, or medical assistance to the wounded. This arm is a purely volunteer group, funded by charitable donations and tithes from the RepublIf. While most Sangheili respect their non-combatant stance, it isn't unknown for them to come under attack. Their actual military arm consists of trained combat medic, referred to as Warrior-Saints. Especially trained for combat medicine and treatment, they go into conflict zones to treat the wounded. However, to think that Saints are non-combatants is a terrible mistake many have made, and few have survived. Each is a trained and skilled warrior, specialising in using their custom built armour to its maximum effectiveness. In their earliest iteration, they accompanied warriors of the Republic into battle. While their ranking and position was diminished under the Covenant, they've once again returned to the front lines under the new Republic, serving as battlefield medics. Recruitment The civilian arm of the Order are purely volunteers. Many are trained medical professionals, wisihing to practice their art with those that need it most. Others are Sangheili from all walks of life, interested in helping those most in need. Often they attract those who wish to charitably help those most in need. The military arm, is more selective in their recruitment. They often get doctors, or warriors coming to them, in order to help people in a battlefield application. While they accept almost anyone, few make it through their gruelling training. They train for 22 hours a day to hone their abilities, alternating between medical tutelage, utilising the unique harness made famous by the Hospitallers, and learning how to precisely control their fire to force enemies back from their charges. Each course is intensive and difficult, and no matter how brilliantly one may perform in a single area, if they fail in even a single other section, they fail the whole training. Only those who master each of these three disciplines can rise to become a Hospitaller Saint. Those who pass the training become known as Saints, and often travel with the order to war zones, to guard their unarmed colleagues. Recently though, with their alliance to the Republic, the Saints have joined the Republic's military on a temporary basis, to travel with the front lines and tend to the wounded there. Equipment Those in the civilian arm of the Saints have some hardware for their mission. These are mostly unarmed variants of military hardware, such as Phantoms and Shadows, all of them painted in the livery of the Saints, light green and white rings. Similar, their transport vessels and uniforms also bear this same colouration and insignia. The civilian arm has a number of starships, including transport vessels for shipping medical and aid supplies. They also have several custom-built hospital ships, that feature dozens of wards and medical facilities, outfitted with modern technology and automated surgery systems for speedy treatment. Those in the military arm of the Order, referred to as Saints, are equipped with custom built harnesses, each being a artisan's masterpiece. Built using similar technology to that utilised in the Ranger harness, it uses anti-gravity technology to enhance the movement of the user. The anti-gravity drives are tuned to provide quick bursts of speed, allowing them to suddenly jet forward, or sideways, boosting them based on their inertia and direction. This allows them to evade fire, or bound effortlessly across the battlefield, getting to the wounded faster that others can. The anti-gravity drive can, in an instant, switch function, allowing them to hover, free of gravity, floating gently over the battlefield, stable enough to rain shots down. These harnesses are painted the inverse of the Hospitaller standard, with white armour, and green circles. Their armour is incredibly difficult to control, and it takes years to master it, preventing wider distribution. When it comes to weapons, Saints usually utilise weapons that are functional from mid to short range, such as Repeaters and Storm Rifles, allowing them to fend off targets that get too close, and keep others at a distance. Saints carry a standardised medical package, containing many life saving pieces of equipment, such as sealant mesh, a tissue knitter, magnetic splint, and many other life saving devices and items, enough for them to treat small injuries, or perform battlefield surgery.